PM Orbán defends Hungary at plenary session of the European parliament in Strasbourg

During the debate on the Sargentini Report, the prime minister said the fight against migration is not a party political issue and that he is prepared to cooperate with any government that wants to defend the EU’s borders

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has defended Hungary at the plenary session of the European parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

During the debate on the Sargentini Report, the prime minister told Hungarian MEPs who are preparing to vote against Hungary that “the trouble with you is that you hate me more than you love your country.”

The prime minister responded to the words of the Liberals’ leader Guy Verhofstadt and said “you hate us conservative Christians more than you love Europe”.

PM Orbán said to those who claim that the report is not aimed at Hungary, he suggests you read its title. "It isn't the Hungarian government they want to denounce, but Hungary," he said.

In relation to Central European University (CEU), the prime minister said they are using a double standard because Bavaria's regulations are much tighter.

He also asked MEPs to visit the CEU website, on which the University itself states that it “will continue its operations under all circumstances", and that “Currently enrolled students and those enrolling in 2018 will be able to finish their studies in Budapest.”

The prime minister also said CEU states that all of its accreditations are unchanged, and that Budapest is a welcoming city.

PM Orbán also stated that the fight against migration is not a party political issue, and that he is prepared to cooperate with any government that wants to defend the EU’s borders. “I raise my hat to the brave Italians," he added.

In closing the prime minister said that, as a member of the European People’s Party, he “can see that we are in trouble and that we are weak. We, the members of the European People’s Party, are not strong enough to follow our own path. To me it seems that we are weak, and that we, the members of the European People’s Party, are dancing to the tune of the socialists and the liberals. In the future I would like us to be able to change this.”